The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #2
The Angel's Game
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Contents
Act Two - Lux Aeterna — Chapter 6
Overview
David probes his tower house and discovers a foul hidden space behind a wardrobe, deepening his suspicion that the manuscript and the house are linked. Publicly snubbed at La Maison Dorée, he witnesses Vidal kiss Cristina and spirals into a drunken binge and a nightmare of Vidal’s funeral.
Police rouse David, and he returns home to find Isabella cast out after declaring herself his assistant; she tends to him, marking a new, fragile alliance.
Summary
David, uneasy after the fatal fire at Barrido & Escobillas and Corelli’s silence, suspects links among the blaze, Corelli’s proposal, and the mysterious manuscript tied to his house. Avoiding the police and Corelli, he investigates a storage room and uncovers a wardrobe with rotting backing and a small hole opening into a dark, fetid void. Spooked by the chill and a spider, David locks the room, unsettled by the hidden space.
Seeking distraction, David invites Sempere the elder to lunch, but ends up taking Sempere’s reserved son to La Maison Dorée. Snubbed by staff, David watches Pedro Vidal arrive to adulation and sees Vidal kiss Cristina. Humiliated, David and Sempere’s son leave for a modest eatery, where David drinks heavily while the younger Sempere counsels moderation and hints he is “waiting” in matters of love.
David then staggers through multiple bars until he passes out on a bench in Plaza Real. He dreams a vivid, macabre vision of Vidal’s funeral, where a glass sarcophagus fills with blood as Vidal stares at him. Policemen wake David and send him home.
At his building, David finds Isabella in the courtyard. She says her father threw her out after she told him David had taken her on as his assistant. Though protesting, David lets her in. Isabella helps him to bed and, without pressing him, offers quiet comfort as he weeps, cementing a tentative partnership.
Who Appears
- David MartínProtagonist; investigates a hidden void in his house, suffers public humiliation, binge-drinks, dreams of Vidal’s funeral, and accepts Isabella’s help.
- IsabellaAspiring assistant; thrown out by her father, seeks refuge with David, tends to him compassionately and stays the night.
- Sempere’s sonReserved bookseller; accompanies David to lunch, witnesses Vidal’s display, advises moderation, and shows quiet empathy.
- Pedro VidalDavid’s mentor; publicly celebrated at La Maison Dorée and kisses Cristina, triggering David’s humiliation and nightmare.
- CristinaVidal’s wife; kisses Vidal in the restaurant, deepening David’s heartbreak.
- Sempere (the elder)Bookseller; declines lunch, briefly appears reading, father to the younger Sempere.
- Head waiter at La Maison DoréeSnubs David and Sempere’s son, fawns over Vidal, embodying the social slight.
- PolicemenWake David from his drunken stupor in Plaza Real and send him home.